Hello,

I bought a bonsai recently, and I've been googling ways on how to care for it. I'm not 100% sure what kind of bonsai it is and I want to make sure I know before I proceed with doing anything else.

I bought my bonsai from this bonsai truck that would come by every week, and the man told me I should dunk it in water every once in a while and I was too scared to so I've only been spraying it with water and watering it once a week.

Can you guys help me identify my bonsai tree and give me some beginner tips? Thanks

It's a Juniper seedling and it will die if you keep it inside.

Welcome to the forum. It is a juniperus, probably procumbens or squamata. I personally doubt it is a seedling. I would venture a guess it is a cutting.

It needs to be outside yearround.
Dunking it in a pot of water is sub-optimal. It will compact the substrate and leave it mucky and wet for a very long time. Best to do what you have been doing. Watering when the substrate gets dry (But do not let it dry out fully !).

Full sun when outside in all but the hottest driest climates.

As it is very young, it will need a bit more growing time before it can be considered a bonsai.
www.growingbonsai.net/why-is-my-tree-not-a-bonsai/

Can you guys help me identify my bonsai tree and give me some beginner tips?

Beginner tips:
1. If you do not know what species it is, you will not know how to care for it. Find out what you buy BEFORE you buy it
2. If you do not know how to take care of bonsai, learn about it BEFORE buying it and asking questions afterwards
3. Learn what real bonsai (or even pre-bonsai, or actually even raw material suitable for bonsai) looks like in advance

This is just a branch, cut of from a bigger juniper and put in the ground. It is one of the best examples of things that are NOT bonsai.

Auk wrote:

Can you guys help me identify my bonsai tree and give me some beginner tips?

Beginner tips:
1. If you do not know what species it is, you will not know how to care for it. Find out what you buy BEFORE you buy it
2. If you do not know how to take care of bonsai, learn about it BEFORE buying it and asking questions afterwards
3. Learn what real bonsai (or even pre-bonsai, or actually even raw material suitable for bonsai) looks like in advance

This is just a branch, cut of from a bigger juniper and put in the ground. It is one of the best examples of things that are NOT bonsai.

... that being said ( he is right on all beginner tips..) you bought the " tree" and already have it at home. You already made mistakes ( see beginner tips) , and when you got home made another mistake ( place it inside).
BUT... you made a good call coming here for help, although being it hard and direct sometimes we try our best to help the umptieth guy with the umptieth juniper.. ( use the search option in this forum..). So: place the tree outside, water it and start studying about bonsai...or, if you dont have green fingers start with some basic horticultural knowledge ( what bonsai is about in 75% of the time...)

lucR wrote: BUT... you made a good call coming here for help, although being it hard and direct

Thanks Luc. I'd like to add that it may sound hard, but that's more directed towards the people selling things like this.

This question pops up fairly often, and everybody replies the same as before. I will do the same.

Find a bonsai group in your area, go to a couple of meetings, and ask all these questions of people there. Pay lots of attention to the ones who have had the most trees the longest times. They know how to keep a tree live in your area, which month to repot, etc. If there is more than one, pick at least one to join.

Listen to every piece of advice you get, thank the advisee, go home, and do what you want to with the tree, so long as you keep it alive.